Flotation shoes

ABSTRACT

A pair of shoes for being worn by a person so to enable him to walk upon the surface of a body of water, the device consisting of elongated shoes made of floatable material, each shoe being sufficiently large so to support the weight of the wearer, each shoe being provided with a fin tail so that the shoe moves forwardly instead of slipping sideward, and each shoe being provided with a downward extending fins or vanes on the under side thereof so to allow maximum forward motion with a minimum of slipping, the under side vanes in one form of the invention being stationary and in another form of the invention being of pivotable type so to retract into an inoperative position when the shoe is moved forwardly and wherein the vane extend downwardly into the water for holding against the water when the shoe is intended to be stationary.

nited States Patent [1 1 Sidlauskas July 24, 1973 FLOTATION SHOES [76]Inventor: Donald M. Sidlauskas, 3950 N. W. 32nd Terrace, Ft. Lauderdale,Fla. 335 15 22 Filed: Nov. 30, 1971 211 Appl.No.:203,133

[52] US. Cl. 36/25 AA [5 1] Int. Cl A43b 00/00 [58] Field of Search36/2.5 R, 2.5 AA, 36/25 AB [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,412,474 12/1946 Scott-Paine et al 36/25 AA 3,082,548 3/1963 Hartman .Q36/25 AA r m a ine-Pa ri k. ave? Attorney-Seth Natter and Howard Natter[57] ABSTRACT A pair of shoes for being worn by a person so to enablehim to walk upon the surface of a body of water, the device consistingof elongated shoes made of floatable material, each shoe beingsufficiently large so to support the weight of the wearer, each shoebeing provided with a fin tail so that the shoe moves forwardly insteadof slipping sideward, and each shoe being provided with a downwardextending fins or vanes on the under side thereof so to allow maximumforward motion with a minimum of slipping, the under side vanes in oneform of the invention being stationary and in another form of theinvention being of pivotable type so to retract into an inoperativeposition when the shoe is moved forwardly and wherein the vane extenddownwardly into the water for holding against the water when the shoe isintended to be stationary.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 FLOTATION SHOES This invention relatesgenerally to footwear. More specifically it relates to footwear for useupon water.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a pair offlotation shoes so to permit a person to walk upon the surface of a bodyof water.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pair offlotation shoes which can be worn upon a persons feet and from which theperson can quickly release himself when necessary.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pair offlotation shoes wherein the under side thereof are provided withdownwardly extending vanes for holding against the water while a persontries to walk.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pair offlotation shoes wherein the downwardly extending vanes in one form ofthe invention are stationary and in anothe form of the invention areretractable so that when the shoe is moved forwardly the vanes areretracted to provide a streamline under side for more effective walking.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a pair offlotation shoes which are simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture,rugged in construction, easy to use and efficient in operation.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a studyof thefollowing specification and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of one form of the present inventionshown incorporating stationary vanes.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a modified design of the inventionshown partly in cross section and illustrating pivotable type of vanes.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side cross sectional view of a modified form ofthe construction illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and more particularly at thistime to FIG. 1 thereof, the reference numeral represents one of a pairof flotation shoes according to the present invention wherein the shoecomprises an elongated member made preferably of a material that isstiff and which will float so that it can support a persons foot 11placed there upon and support the wearer upon the surface of a body ofwater such as a lake, river or the like. The material accordingly ispreferably made of polystirene for meeting such requirements and whichis quite inexpensive. The forward end of the shoe 10 can be tapered to apoint 12 for being pushed through the water, and the rear end may beformed to include a fish tail or rear fin 13.

A plurality of vanes 14 are integrally formed on the under side 15 ofthe shoe body, each of the vanes comprising a transverse element thatextends downwardly and inclined rearwardly so that it has a streamlinedfront side 16 for allowing the shoe tobe pushed easily forwardly throughthe water, and each fin has a rear side 17 for holding against the waterso that the shoe can be retained in a stationary position between eachstep while walking on the water.

Upon the upper side 18 of the shoe body there are I provided a toereceiving member 19 and a heel member 20 so that a person may place hisfoot there between and from which he can in case of necessity.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawing, there is shown a modified designof flotation shoes 21 which is likewise made of an elongated body 22made perferably of polystirene material so to be stiff and to float. Itincludes the foot holding members 19 and 20 described above. In thisform of the invention, a plurality of pivotable vanes 23 are located onthe under side 24 thereof, each of the vanes 23 being pivotable about atransverse pin 25 supported at its opposite ends within longitudinallyextending brackets 26 secured to the under side of the shoe body 24 bymeans of securing posts 27 molded within the body 22. A plurality ofpockets 28 are formed on the under side of the body 22 and into which aforward end of the vanes are pivotable so that the rear ends of thevanes will depend downwardly into the water as shown in FIG. 2 and thusadaptable for holding the shoe in a stationary position while a personslides the other shoe on his other foot forwardly. When the shoe 21 isdesired to be moved forwardly in the water, the vanes pivot into ahorizontal position adjacent the under side 24 of the shoe body so, thatthe shoe is in a streamlined position for feathering the water so tomove frictionally free there through. Thus a modified form of theinvention has been provided.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing, there is shown a furthermodified design of flotation shoe 29 which incorporates the features ofthe retractable vanes illustrated in FIG. 2. However in this form of theinvention, the shoe body 30 made of polystirene is fitted on its underside there with a flexible rubber cover 31 provided with a plurality oftransverse extending pockets 32 so that downwardly extending flaps 33are formed, each one of the flaps being readily moveable between ahorizontal position and the downwardly depending position as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4 so that the flaps serve the same purposes as vanes 23above described. In this form of the invention, there are no mechanicalextra parts so that the flap simply pivots about a fold line rather thanabout a pivot pin. Advantage of this structure is that a person can walkwith the shoe quickly release himself upon the groundwith out danger ofinjuring any mechanical parts. Additionally this form of construction isexceedingly inexpensive while accomplishing the same purposes.

Thus several forms of flotation shoes have been indicated.

What I now claim is:

1. In a flotation shoe, the combination of an elongated shoe body madeof stiff material that is floatable within water, said elongated shoebody having means upon its upper side for attachment to a persons foot,and the under side of said shoe body having means for'selectivelyholding said shoe in a stationary position while a shoe body on theperson's other foot is forwardly moved during a walking operation 'uponwater, said means on the under side of said shoe body comprising aplurality of transverse vanes projecting therefrom, a forward end ofsaid shoe box body being tapered to a point for frictionally movingthrough the water, and a rear end of said shoe box body being providedwith a fish depending rear tail fin.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means forreceiving a persons foot comprises a toe said vanes 0n the under side ofsaid shoe body are movable between a substantially horizontal positionand a pivotably downward rearwardly inclined position.

1. In a flotation shoe, the combination of an elongated body made ofstiff material that is floatable within water, said elongated bodyhaving means upon its upper side for attachment to a person''s foot, andthe under side of said body having means for selectively holding saidshoe in a stationary position while a shoe on the person''s other footis forwardly moved during a walking operation upon water, said means onthe under side of said shoe body comprising a plurality of transversevanes, a forward end of said shoe box being tapered to a point forfrictionally moving through the water, and a rear end of said shoe boxbeing provided with a fish tail fin.
 2. The combination as set forth inclaim 1 wherein said means for receiving a persons foot comprises a toemember and a heel member mounted upon the upper side of said shoe body.3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said vanes on theunder side of said shoe body are integral and stationary respective tosaid shoe body.
 4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein saidvanes on the under side of said shoe are movable between a horizontalposition and a pivotably downward rear inclined position.